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The Abyss of Nalia
The Abyss of Nalia= *System: Heroine Crisis (Landlufe Chronicles) *GGM: Suzune *Session Frequency: Undecided ([[HC Scheduling]]) *Channels: #HC and #HC-session *GM Policy: GMing is encouraged, but please respect the GM rules *Rules: Heroine Crisis Landlufe + Kurakura Modern Traits (with optional use of original Trait list) Setting Introduction Parallel to Earth, in another dimensional space, exists the world of Nalia. Nalia is a stranger place than Earth, for it is both blessed and cursed with the force of Miasma, which simultaneously creates both magic, and the depraved beings on which it must be used. Miasma is a living, somewhat-intelligent force of magic that seems to stem from 'gaps' in the planetary crust of Nalia, flowing out into neighboring lands like a plague. Whatever it touches slowly is infested by its primal lust and cursed darkness, becoming increasingly perverse and desirous as the Miasma takes over its mind and body. However, the presence of Miasma can be made use of - ancient devices and various modern ritual tools can be used to convert its power into various forms of magic, though only Maidens are able to use it as an extension of themselves. Maidens, while there are exceptions, are mostly girls who cross into Nalia from Earth through the use of the Summoning Beacons, possibly one of the most advanced kinds of the ancient machines. It's unknown what gives them their status, but it seems to be some kind of trait that pops up with great frequency in girls from all over the Earth, but is somewhat less common in Nalia. In exchange for luxurious treatment and a boon of good fortune on Earth, these Maidens form the only offensive line against the creatures of the Miasma, able to resist the corrupting effects of it long enough to use their powers and defeat those beasts, allowing the defense of the various nations of Nalia, and the recovery of ancient technologies. Of course, doubtless there are many secrets left to discover about this world... General World Info The first thing to know about the world of Nalia is that, while there are some anomalies (like the Great Abyss), the Miasmic Gaps are generally evenly dispersed across the landmasses of the world (some might contend that there have to be underwater ones too, but without the ability to thoroughly explore Nalian oceans, that is merely a hypothesis). Furthermore, Summonings don't have any geographic rhyme or reason. Nalian regions can pull from anywhere on Earth, even if often one source is favored over others for any given batch of Maidens, just for consistency's sake. (Being able to meet back on Earth is an important consideration after all) The climate of Nalia, in part due to wild surges from the Miasma currents that flood it, as well as strange ecologies formed by corrupted lifeforms and the /things/ that crawl out of the gaps... is highly variable. Though not quite as terrible as a rainforest right adjacent to a tundra, the biomes are still rather mixed, and include unusual places like slime marshes or living caverns. About Miasma Miasma, as stated in the introduction, is both magical and partially 'alive'. Its will is to corrupt, and this drive crosses with the drive for sex that all advanced lifeforms have, causing it to in turn corrupt creatures into lusty abominations - or to congeal into lustful demons unique to the Miasma. However, at the same time, Miasma is at the root of all magic in Nalia, which is why Maidens spend crystallized Miasma almost as if it were a currency to form their magical arms and armor. In its crystalline form, Miasma loses its 'drive', and can thus be affected by other thinking wills - producing all the effects of magic that are known to Nalia. However, barring the use of rare ancient engines of conversion - which usually have their own cost in conventional energy resources to operate - the production of crystallized Miasma is done through Maidens themselves, who can (or with the help of others) emit fields of Miasma they've absorbed and then solidify them (of note, this is just a release of /energy/. The mark of corruption still exists barring some kind of fantastic change). Unscrupulous countries (and some rumor, /all/ countries whether they openly approve of it or not) sometimes create factories lined with utterly corrupted Maidens who produce stockpiles of crystallized Miasma from their almost self-sustaining supplies of the stuff. About the Maiden's Contract and Service in Nalia The Maiden's Contract is a magical and literal contract that binds a girl into becoming a Maiden. The terms are fairly simple: A small but variable amount of combat service is absolutely required ((Read: Your term is up to the point that you're eligible for a 'good' Ending)), but in exchange they gain prosperity on Earth through various forms of Nalian magic and agents who surreptitiously bless their families and generally make their lives easier back at home. ((This means that, unless you're a Nalian native, your Fame score not only represents your popularity in Nalia, but more importantly the boons you or your family receive back on Earth.)) Only girls and young women with the 'Maiden trait' (which all PCs always have) can make the contract. Usually, fellow Maidens or retired ex-Maidens are called upon to recruit new ones. Of note, is that the contract is more than just a literal bargain - it is also an enchantment that permanently grants the recipient their ability to harness crystallized Miasma to cast magic and forge magical arms and armor, which are more effective against Miasmic beasts than conventional equipment. Places on Earth -Fuchimiya School Campus, Fuchimiya Town, Japan- Connected Nalian Region (GM): Devron (Suzune) A collection of schools at all grade levels in a small town of the same name in Japan, this sleepy school campus would be all but a footnote in anyone's mind, were it not for the fact that its population is drawn on to produce a squad of Maidens who work for the government of the Nalian country of Devron. The town is about half an hour's train ride to Tokyo, and often the older kids there go to college in the city or otherwise hang out in the hustle and bustle of the capital. Regions of Nalia (GGM Note: New regions can be created freely as long as they're approved and fit in with the general tone of the world, and in fact that's encouraged, so that if a GM doesn't want to crash into another GM's plotline, they can just operate in a different region.) -Devron- GM(s) with plotlines in this region: Suzune Devron is a mostly temperate zone, noted for being somewhat forested and rife with cave systems. While there are small towns at various defensible points, the only truly notable city there is Ral Devron, the national capital, where Queen Asamiya rules. Ral Devron is a vast metropolis by Nalian standards, and benefits greatly from the ancients' magitechnology, with wonders enough to rival modern Earth - like running water, city lights, a mystical broadcasting and communications system, the works. It's also rather eerily beautiful, made of a great many buildings forged of gleaming obsidian-like material. However, it's also fact that Ral Devron is actually just the surface layer of what was once an ancient underground complex of as-of-yet unknown extent. Such is actually somewhat common in Nalia, oddly enough. While the regular army and mechanized defense measures like vault-doors are enough to keep the weak subsurface monsters at bay, it only gets worse as one goes down further. Of course, prizes in the form of ancient relics and old technology exist down there too, and sometimes a stronger monster will come up and forment trouble... though that's nothing that isn't dealt with in nearly every part of Nalia. The nearest Gap - known as the Pit of Lost Hope - is north-northeast of Ral Devron, and while it is technically within the very fringe of Devronian borders, the area immediately around it is a lawless no-man's-land (literally, since males are more susceptible to the Miasma) where droves of monsters frolic and plot their raids on the civilized world. However, the western forests are affected, too, by the advancing waves of corruption from a further and stronger Gap referred to as the Devouring Maw, so while the eastern and central regions are relatively safe, the west and north often face troubles that Maidens will be called upon to deal with. Like in most of Nalia, there's no one overriding theme of just what kinds of beasts roam its wilderness, though the two Gaps nearest to Devron's lands, as well as Ral Devron's subterrane, are slightly biased. The Pit of Lost Hope tends towards the openly demonic, and can be rather prone to creating surprisingly savvy and cunning monsters. Conversely, the Devouring Maw favors wilder things, and often will corrupt existing creatures as well as generate new ones. Finally, the dungeons under Ral Devron are rather varied, though as one goes deeper, the creatures become more eldritch and bizarre. As one might expect from her name, Queen Asamiya is a former Maiden, originally from somewhere in Japan (she doesn't like to say where), who rose to power as a sort of form of bloodless military ascension. At present, though, she rules mostly benevolently in a civilian capacity, though she has a relatively large amount of power, though not quite absolute (there are nobles who have some say in matters in the country, and the mayors of the smaller towns have some semblance of autonomy). -The Great Abyss- GM(s) with plotlines in this region: None yet. (It's more a setting fixture of note than a playable region, though climactic battles or the like could be had there, or a particularly harsh campaign.) Way on another continent (of which Nalia has several) from Devron, is a place known around the world as the Great Abyss, a festering mass of holes and cracks in the planet created by multiple Gaps forming in roughly the same area. It's unknown just /what/ created the Great Abyss, but it is the most dangerous place in all of Nalia - not even the most seasoned and powerful Maiden to go into it has ever come back out (even though masterful Maidens can sometimes enter a normal Gap and come out alive, if sometimes changed). Sometimes, great and terrible monsters draw themselves out of its depths, forcing teams of Maidens to face them together. Rules Errata None yet. Player rules *As with all games here, don't lose on purpose. It'll probably be easy enough to do accidentally. *Respect the other players and GMs. GM rules *Please don't intentionally try to wipe out the players. Challenging battles are fun. Punishing players for ignoring warnings are fine too. But just arbitrarily slaughtering players is pointless. *If you want to create an NPC for a role mentioned in the setting, please clear it with the GGM first, please. *While it's fine to use NPCs made by other GMs, if you're going to change anything permanent about them (change their relationships, get them killed etc. etc.), ask the the person who created them first. *In the same way, don't do anything that has great impact on the setting without clearing it first. In the case of this game, that would mean anything that'd greatly change the face of a region or its cities. House Rules Reincarnation rules: Kagarus's PC (and anyone else who wishes to do this) can reincarnate by sending her consciousness back to some unknown central server for cleansing. This is basically equivalent to either retiring a character for an Ending, or voluntary retirement without an ending, save that the same roleplayed character is played even though they're using a different mechanical sheet. Monster Recognition Training Rules: Any PC can draw on either training or other sources of experience to attempt to size up a monster. By making a wisdom check against a flat difficulty of 12, you get information on its rank, and possibly other information like its general type and anything you were told about it during training. Campaign Roster NPCs PCs Miscellaneous (Arcs and Similar)=